Despite having an extra weekend day last month, casino receipts in Atlantic City were down 3.5%, largely driven by the Trump Taj Mahal. (Subtract the Taj from the equation 
and you’d have a flat year/year comparison.) Table game revenues were down 2% on flat wagering and slot winnings were 4% off, in line with 4% less coin-in. Borgata outperformed the market (big surprise, I know), with 6% more coin-in producing 4% more slot revenue. But Lady Luck wasn’t with MGM Resorts International at the tables, where the house was down 2% despite 8% higher wagering.
Online gambling was the brightest spot, with Internet revenues up 35%. The market-share leader, surprisingly, was the Golden Nugget, with 22.5% market share. For all the ballyhoo over the dramatic impact PokerStars would have on the cyber-Boardwalk (arguably the most overhyped gaming story of the year), Resorts Digital is stuck in last place (18%). As far as terrestrial casinos were concerned, The Taj ($8 million) went into a death spiral, plunging 51% as picketers kept players at 
bay. The latter gravitated to Resorts Atlantic City ($17 million), up 11%. Carl Icahn made back some of what he lost at the Taj at Tropicana Atlantic City, which gained 7% on a $26 million gross. The Golden Nugget also benefited, up 4% to $18 million. Borgata rounded out the gainers, with a 2% uptick and $64 million gross.
The Caesars Entertainment trio had a bad month, though. Bally’s fell 4%, to $18 million, while Caesars Atlantic City conceded 4%, to $30 million. Even Harrah’s Resort wasn’t immune, dropping 8% to $29. It’s an uncharacteristically poor performance for Harrah’s, which usually outperforms Caesars. Still, when you throw out the dead weight that was the Taj — along Caesars’ inexplicable woes — it wasn’t a bad month to own a casino in Atlantic City. Still, considering that Glenn Straub will have to create customer loyalty and brand equity from scratch, we don’t envy his task in opening Ten. Whichever casino operator Straub signs — and he has been nothing if not coy on the subject — had better bring a big player database with them.
Borgata is a BEAST! Awesome place.
I wonder if MGM will run the Borgata as well as Boyd did.
Bob, I hope so. The Boyd folks did an amazing job with that place. My understanding; however, is that the people on the ground are mostly the same. It will be interesting to see if MGM National Harbor has any negative affect on Borgata’s business.